Xie Jianyu conveniently did not show up the next day at Crystal Jade Pavilion.
It did not matter.
Zhang Fengxi did not plan to let him off the hook.
Instead of going straight back home after the class ended, Zhang Fengxi made a detour to Fuxi Palace.
When he arrived at the gate, he loudly demanded to meet with the Fuxi Palace Master.
Fuxi Palace was a huge palace, second only to the Golden Dragon Palace. It was the home to the next heavenly emperor, so everything starting from the eaves to the grass that grew in the garden was of the highest quality.
Maybe this was why Xie Jianyu had such an insufferable personality. He stuck to his moral compass and looked down on everyone who broke the rules. He was prude. Arrogant. Inflexible.
No wonder he had no friends.
No wonder he was alone all the time!
Those who were close to him were nothing but sycophantic dogs!!!
"I am sorry, Prince Zhang Fengxi, but the Crown Prince is currently occupied with guests."
Pah!
What guests???
Zhang Fengxi shoved the head servant aside impatiently. He was not there to talk to a mere servant. He wanted to give Xie Jianyu a piece of his mind.
"Prince Zhang Fengxi, please stop."
"Your Highness... please don't make things difficult for us..."
Zhang Fengxi rolled with his eyes.
Difficult? He was about to show them what it looked like if he truly was trying to make things difficult for them.
Soft zither music flowed from the inner part of the palace. Zhang Fengxi stepped off the floor and flew in the direction of the music.
While he was floating in the air, he caught sight of Xie Jianyu. The young man had only his inner robe on. He was practicing swordsmanship in the inner courtyard. His movements were light, flowing into each other in accompaniment of the zither music.
The one who played the zither was Shi Qingyue.
Shi Qingyue!!!
"Xie Jianyu, you hypocrite!!!"
Zhang Fengxi cried out furiously. He pounced at Xie Jianyu, who intercepted his attack with astonishment.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"How dare you report Wenyuan to the Emperor???" Zhang Fengxi howled like a wounded animal. "He was just crowned as the Ethereal Beauty of the year! He is innocent! You saw one kiss and you thought that we did something promiscuous!"
Xie Jianyu struggled to parry Zhang Fengxi's attacks. Not because he lacked the skill, but because he was afraid of hurting Zhang Fengxi.
Ideally, Xie Jianyu should discard his sword first, but Zhang Fengxi did not leave him any second to switch to a close-combat fight. All Xie Jianyu could do was block Zhang Fengxi's attacks and not attack in return.
"You said that an omega and an alpha are not supposed to be alone without supervision! Look at what you are doing right now! You are spending time alone with Shi Qingyue! Is she not an omega???"
Zhang Fengxi bit into the inner part of his cheek as he rained down on Xie Jianyu with his insults.
Never mind that Xie Jianyu was an omega and not an alpha. Wasn't Xie Jianyu pretending to be an alpha, anyway?
Xie Jianyu did not answer the accusation. Or maybe he did not have time to formulate the right answer.
Zhang Fengxi was emboldened by Xie Jianyu's silence. He pushed hard at Xie Jianyu's shoulder and sent him flying to a nearby pillar.
Shi Qingyue rose from her seat and cried out in horror, "Crown Prince!!!"
Xie Jianyu fell from the pillar to the ground. Panting heavily, he pressed a hand against his chest.
"Crown Prince! Oh, dear heavens!"
Shi Qingyue rushed to Xie Jianyu's side. Watching them acting sweet and lovey-dovey like that was enough to make stomach acid rise to Zhang Fengxi's throat.
"I am not going to apologize for today," Zhang Fengxi growled at Xie Jianyu. "Go ahead and report me to the Emperor again. I will accept any kind of punishment. It is worth beating you up."
Xie Jianyu lifted his eyes and stared at Zhang Fengxi through a curtain of tears. It hurt so much to breathe, let alone talk.
Zhang Fengxi left before he saw the other people who poured from inside the Fuxi Palace.
"Crown Prince! What happened??" Shi Qingqing, Shi Qingyue's beta cousin exclaimed in confusion.
"Little Uncle!"
Jiang Muchen was also there. He hastily put down a tray full of baked goods before he rushed to take a look at Xie Jianyu's injuries.
"I am fine," Xie Jianyu said.
Zhang Fengxi did not hit him that hard. He only left a bruise or two.
"That asshole!" Jiang Muchen rose to his feet, his face distorted into a mask of anger. "I am going to kill him!!!"
"Muchen, stop it."
Xie Jianyu's authoritative voice extinguished Jiang Muchen's murderous aura in a blink of an eye. Xie Jianyu turned to look at Shi Qingyue.
"Did you report Liu Wenyuan to the Empress?"
Shi Qingyue pursed her lips in response.